Village Chat

Ann Q. Peters

Orion William van Loben Sels.

The fifth generation of the Coffin/van Loben Sels family to live on the same Kenwood property has arrived. Orion William van Loben Sels was born on Jan. 31 at 2:47 p.m. He's the son of Nathan and Caitlin van Loben Sels, and the great grandson of Connie van Loben Sels. Nathan weighed in at 7 lb., 9 oz. and is 19 _ inches long. Baby and parents are doing fine. Connie's parents, Sherwood and Constance Coffin, bought the 36-acre farm back in the 1940s. In the '70s they donated part of the land to St. Patrick's Episcopal Church. The road next to the church is Coffin Lane, and Connie still lives on the property along with grandson Nathan, Caitlin, and now baby Orion. Congratulations, everyone!

In an outing that was part museum-going and part adventure, Catherine and Dave Jefferson took a ride on the visiting Ford Trimotor airplane, built in 1929, and formerly part of the Harrah's collection. They were celebrating Dave's birthday. Catherine writes, “This was how, if you were very wealthy, you would travel commercially in the 1930s. Keeping in mind that the Wright Brothers flew the first manned aircraft in 1903, it strikes me that this is an example of how the world had begun to change exponentially.” If you've never been to the Pacific Coast Air Museum out at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, they're having their monthly Open Cockpit Weekend on Feb. 18 and you can sit in the cockpit of a Douglas DC 6 airliner, among others. See more at pacificcoastairmuseum.org. Oh, and Happy Birthday, Dave!

Two budding chefs being coached by former Vineyards Inn owner Steve Rose managed to take gold and silver at the Skills USA California Region 1 competition on Feb. 11 in San Jose. The students are in the Maria Carrillo High School Advanced Culinary Program taught by Mary Schiller. Her three bakers also swept the top three spots in the Commercial Baking category. All five students advance to the State Finals in San Diego in April. Keep us posted, Steve!

Ellen McKnight was named Volunteer of the Month at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park for January - congratulations, Ellen! Ellen mans the entry kiosk and has had several shifts where she took in nearly $1,000. That's a lot of park visits. The Team Sugarloaf website says, “We are not sure if the crush of visitors arrive to see Ellen, of she just gets lucky, but we appreciate her hard work and ability to keep up with the crush while providing a warm welcome to all who visit this amazing place. Thanks Ellen, and we hope you have a normal day in the kiosk soon.”

Horsequins waiting to be packed up and shipped off to America.

Julie Atwood alerts us that the first group of horse mannequins (horsequins?) will arrive soon from Welshpool in the U.K. They will be used for training in horse and livestock rescues for HALTER (Horse and Livestock Team Emergency Response.) If you're interested in finding out more about HALTER, go to www.halterfund.org.

The Kenwood Firefighters Association Crab Feed was last Saturday, the usual sell-out. If you were lucky enough to have tickets, you enjoyed lots and lots of delicious crab, dished out by our firefighters and Explorers. Thanks, everyone, for supporting KFA's biggest fundraiser of the year. And if you missed it, try to buy tickets earlier next time - like in December!

There's another crab feed coming up, though, and tickets are still available for it - The Crab in the Cave at Deerfield Ranch Winery on March 25. That one is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Rotary Club of Glen Ellen-Kenwood. We have tickets here in the Kenwood Press office, or you can buy them online at crabinthecave.brownpapertickets.com.

Do you have excess stuff to get rid of? If you read the Publisher's Corner in this issue, you know I do! We're all in luck. The Rotary Club of Glen Ellen-Kenwood is teaming up with St. Patrick's Episcopal Church to host a giant Rummage Sale on May 20. If you have gently-used items you'd like to donate, please hang onto them for now, and I will let you know where to take them as soon as the storage area is ready for donations. Proceeds will be divided equally between the two organizations. Call or email me if you have any questions (my contact info is below.)

Speaking of St. Patrick's, mark your calendar for the St. Patrick's Day Dinner on March 18. The church has perfected this event and it really is about the best corned beef and cabbage you'll ever eat. Even if you think you don't like it, give it a try - remember Green Eggs and Ham!

That's all for now. Thanks to everyone who sent in their news and photos for Village Chat. It's easy to do! Just call 833-5155 or email ann@kenwoodpress.com and chat me up!- AQP